The Lonely and the Hairstylist
by xxxMissAlicexxx
Summary: AU. "If you do like Erza, then ask her out for dinner, I'm 100% sure she'd say yes." One-shot. Jerza


**I know I'm supposed to be working on other things, particularly Step Foward, but the idea was haunting me until I finished writing it. So I hope you enjoy and I don't own Fairy Tail.  
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><p>She would come once every other week by herself and the other week with a friend who wanted company. She was one of his best customers, not to mention one of his most beautiful. He adored those scarlet locks of hers which were soft without the need for any of those treatments that she came by for. But she insisted that it was only because of treatment he gave her.<p>

He discovered her charming quirks and admired her more than he would hope that he let on. But his fellow workers quickly caught on to the smiles and moods that he was in whenever she was around and often insisted to stop being a pansy and ask her out but he was... well not very good at these type of things.

"Welcome Erza!" the pinkette receptionist/nail and make-up artist greeted. "You're here for your 10 o'clock appointment with Jellal right?"

"Yes. Is he ready?"

"For you, always," she ensured with a giggle. "And this is your friend who also scheduled for a hair and makeup appointment?"

The blonde woman besides her with a small baby bumped introduced herself. "Lucy Dragnneel. Erza talks about this salon all the time."

"And we talk about Erza all the time. Erza, Jellal's in his normal place. Lucy-san just follow Erza."

He would kill Meredy but then Ultear would kill him so he had to live with it. With a smile he greeted, "It's nice to see you again Erza. What would you like me to do with your hair today?"

"Hello Jellal," She greeted with a warm smile. He pulled out a chair for her and she sat down. "l have to go to a friend's wedding so could you style my hair to be more formal? Like a bun or something. "

"Sure. Did you wash your hair yesterday?"

"With the products that you recommended for me," she informed as he ran his fingers through her hair. He just loved being able to treat her goddess like hair. It was long and beautiful and probably her most stunning feature from behind. Her best feature for him was her warm chocolate eyes that held responsibility and passion.

"It's in a great condition today." Let's see, what kind of look would she be good in? Maybe something more mature? He brushed out her hair, thinking. "While I'm doing her hair, Lucy-san please think about what kind of hairstyle you would like. If you don't have any idea, then please look at the pamphlet in the side pocket of the chair you're sitting in."

"Ah, thank you, um…"

"My name is Jellal Fernandez, Sociere's prime hairstylist."

"Oh…" A look of recognition shone across her face. "Erza, is this the person that you've been telling me a lot of things about? Because you were right in how he is incredibly—"Erza turned around and glared. "I'm sorry, Erza-sama. But can I just have one comment?" Erza slowly shook her head as she rested back in the chair.

Jellal felt awkward as he felt the atmosphere cooling around him, actually scratch that, Erza was more in an ice queen mode. "Um… Should I—"

"No," Erza instantly answered. With a cold smile she ensured, "Don't worry, it's not that important. Right Lucy?"

"Yep, nothing at all." The only sounds were from the brush as silence overtook them. When Jellal deemed her hair untangled enough, he picked up one of the warm curling irons and started to style Erza's hair in loose curls. "Jellal-san would you happen to be free around 3 today?"

"I have work until 8," he answered, carefully making sure that he didn't singe Erza. "Be sure to tell me if I accidentally hurt you and tilt your head a little," he told Erza. "Why do you ask about my plans?"

"Well, Erza doesn't have a date today so maybe you could—"A hairbrush hit Lucy straight in the face before she could finish that sentence. Jellal's heart thumped as he sprayed Erza's hair to hold the curls in place. "Erza!"

"You started it," the redhead stated bluntly. "I swear you're becoming more like Mira. She set me up on 10 blind dates within the past two weeks." 10?! He knew that Erza didn't really have a special someone from her many visits but for her to go through that many dates… Maybe he really doesn't have a chance. "Jellal, I apologize if you felt awkward in any part of this conversation."

"No, it's fine. More importantly tell me if you feel any pain while I'm doing this." Well didn't he get off that topic smoothly? Jellal twisted her hair and rolled it into a ball. After, he put some pins in her hair to hold it in place. With one last spritz, the curls that framed her face were in perfect condition. "How's this? It's a tendril bun."

Erza looked in the mirror and smiled. "It looks great!" Erza turned the chair around so she could face Lucy. "What do you think?"

Lucy nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! This is a great hairstyle for you, you look so sexy Erza!"

"Thank you Jellal."

"You're very welcome." She looked even more beautiful when she smiles. "Tell Meredy that you're ready for your make up.

"I thought you also were charge of make up since Ultear was on vacation for two weeks."

"Meredy's been getting better so we decided to have her handle it," Jellal explained. "Don't worry. We made sure that she knows what she's doing." Erza nodded in acceptance and walked back to Meredy. "Lucy-san have you decided on your hair style?"

"Um… Not yet. There are too many for me to decide."

"Then can you tell me what kind of style you would like or what kind of look you're going for?"

"Something with wavy hair because I want to match the bride and um… something that my friends will say, 'I'm still cute even though I'm pregnant' kind of look. Does that make sense?"

"It does, but you're not interested in what your husband has to say?" Her hair felt a little oily, so he should treat it first.

"Natsu always thinks that I look great, so it doesn't matter what he thinks."

"That's kind of harsh. I'm going to wash your hair first, do you mind?"

"That's fine." Lucy sighed out with Jellal's fingers were massaging her scalp. "This feels wonderful! No wonder Erza comes here so often!" Jellal merely smiled and rinsed her hair. "So you really can't go out with Erza? You two look like you'll be a good match for each other."

"Um… It's inappropriate to go out with a customer," he stated as he began to blow dry her hair.

"Does that really matter?" she asked loudly to be heard over the sound of the hair dryer.

"Erza wouldn't stop coming here just because you two would have a fight or anything. Besides, it looks like the rest of your staff would be happy if you two went out." Jellal practically slammed down the hair dryer. How could she know that when she's only seen Meredy? "Oh, do you have a girlfriend then?"

"Why are you interested in my personal life?"

"Well, I want Erza to be happy and from the way you looked at her earlier makes me think that you have a thing for her." He really should have a better hold on his emotions when he's at work. "And whenever we talk about this place, she would always have this look on her face that makes her… I don't know, glow."

A tiny bit of hope bloomed in his chest. Maybe he had a chance? "I think you should leave her romances as her own business until she wants you to intervene. Being set up on blind dates aren't particularly fun and from what it sounds like, Erza doesn't want to go on anymore," he explained as he loosely arranged her waves.

"But she knows you, so technically it's not a blind date," Lucy pointed out. Now that he thought about it, Erza _did _say that all of her friends were like family to her and that meant that they were willing to go to whatever lengths, some of them, to make sure she didn't die old and alone. Particularly Mira-san, who he did some styling for before.

"Just how much do you want me to go out with Erza?"

"Considering the fact that her last official boyfriend was 7 years ago… a lot."

"It still wouldn't be a good idea for me to do something like that." With the last pins in and a final check over, he announced, "Here, it's done. This is what it looks like from the back."

A half bun with the remainder of her golden hair waved ever so slightly. "Already?" She sighed, looking disappointed.

"This type of hairstyle isn't too difficult. If you were given some instructions, I'm sure you can do it too. Do you not like it?"

"No, it's really good. In fact I love it!" Then what was the problem? "But does this mean that I have to leave?"

"If you scheduled for a make-up appointment with Erza then you should go. The make-up room is going to be three doors on your left."

"Well, I don't want to be late for the wedding," she stated to herself more than to Jellal. "Thank you for your hard work Jellal-san, I feel like I should come by here more often too." Lucy stood and began to walk towards the door but at the last step, she stopped to say, "If you do like Erza, then ask her out for dinner, I'm 100% sure she'd say yes."

"You sound like you're Mira-san." She wasn't satisfied until Jellal asked Erza to go with him for a quick coffee run.

"Eh." Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "I spend a lot of time with them." Finally she left leaving Jellal to sigh back in one of the chairs. Ugh… Should he? He _wanted_ to try but if she doesn't like him then it would get too awkward for them on several levels. He really liked Erza around and talking to her that he wished they spent more time together but she was busy with her career.

"Hi, I'm your 11'o clock."

Time to get back to work. "Please sit down. What occasion do you need a hairstyle for?"

The hours past with hairstyle after hairstyle and finally it was closing time. Too bad for him it was inventory day.

"Boss, I'm off," the aroma therapist announced.

"Later Erick."

"It's Cobra!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get drunk you've got work tomorrow. Oh and if you see Sawyer tell him that he needs to fix those chairs quick by tomorrow."

"Got it."

The angel like woman who handled nail art with a solemn expression looked at him. "Fernandez."

"Sorano. I promise that you will get time off tomorrow so stop giving me that look."

"No, it's because you still haven't asked that Erza out yet and I'm losing the bet. Hurry up and ask her already!"

"Meredy! How many times do I have to tell you to stop betting on me? See you tomorrow." Sorano shook her head and walked out.

"Jelly make sure that you get some sleep and lock up properly. I already cleaned my station and I will never stop shipping Jerza until you two are canon," she reported, more darkly towards the end. This is what happens when he lets her read manga during her breaks. With a smile and wave she said, "Night~"

"Night." Why was there so much paperwork in everything in life? All he wanted was to finish this and hurry back to his apartment. There was a loud stream of knocking coming from the front. What was it now? Didn't whoever know that he was closed? Through the door, he could see bright red hair. "Erza?" he called out as he opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

Her hair was a mess like her ruined make up with pieces of food in it, one of her heels was broken and she carried her shoes in her hand while her dress was extremely wrinkled but looked gorgeous on her figure. "I know you're closed but can you please help me? I kind of want someone to talk to."

"Sure, come on. I'll get you fixed," he promised, leading her in. "Did someone hurt you?" he asked turning on the lights and getting the water running. There was fish and sauce in her hair, how does that happen?

"Lucy's husband got into an argument with another friend and the groom got involved so I kind of… separated them," she explained briefly. "Before I separated them, some other people got involved so we basically fought each other until the reception was over. Don't worry, it always happens when we all get together."

"Does that happen often?"

"Yeah. You should see us at work. Ow."

"Sorry." He put her loose hair in the sink and started washing it. Erza sighed in relief. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

Her expression grew slightly sad. "Jellal. You would say that we're friends right?"

"Of course." Though he knew that he wanted to be more if they could.

"Do you think that…um…" She muttered something incomprehensible.

"What?"

"No, on second thought it's nothing."

"Does this have anything to do with dating?"

She blushed and fiddled with her fingers. "I-I guess so. When I was thinking of who to have a conversation with, I thought of you since you're so easy to talk to and if I were to go to one of my friends they're all…"

"All what?"

She sighed. "All couples! If they're not married, then they're at least engaged or dating while I'm just…" She put her legs up to her chest, not moving her head. He understood even without hearing it from her. "Alone and jealous."

He blow dried her hair and they were left in silence. "Is that why you went on all of those dates? I'm going to remove your make up."

She closed her eyes. He touched her soft cheeks to hold her face in place. She didn't need any makeup, at most a more natural kind. He should tell Meredy that next time. "I don't know. I just wanted to find some guy."

"You look more stressed since you're going at it like that. Aren't you interested in anyone like at your work or something?" He hoped for the or something.

"There is a really great guy that I know," she admitted. "But… I don't want to lose our current relationship so I thought that I should wait on him."

Of course she would have someone. "You're a great person Erza, I don't know why anyone wouldn't want someone as wonderful as you. You're strong, smart, passionate about your work and cake," she chuckled a little, "You're so vibrant with life and beyond beautiful. If someone were to reject you, then obviously he doesn't deserve you." He hesitated before wiping the final bits of make up from her skin. "I'm done."

"Thank you Jellal." She was smiling but she still looked at little sad.

"Since you're here and conveniently make up free with loose hair, can I experiment on you a little?"

"Don't you have other work to get to?"

"Just finished before you came." He wanted to give her a nice cheering up look. Jellal knew that Erza loved all the make-up treatments and princess like hairstyles. "It would be a great help with my work and the entire thing's on me."

"If you're offering."

"A light pink would suit you better, something more natural," he muttered. "Sorry if I start talking nonsense. Feel free to just ignore me." No powder was needed, just a smidge of a natural red to highlight her lips. What should he do with her eyes? "What should I do…?" With a hint of a shimmering rose color and curling her hair into nice ringlets, just to give her a nice royalty look. "You look beautiful Erza."

Erza looked at herself in shock. "Wow… Thank you Jellal!" she shouted with a hug.

"You're welcome," He managed out. Erza let go with an apologetic face. He smiled at her. Moving a loose strand, he said, "Honestly I think you look best naturally." Realizing what he thought was actually voiced, he quickly explained, "W-Well... what I mean is that no matter what you look amazing so whatever you do you look just perfect and-" Why can't he just shut up?

Both became flustered with a shade of pink tinting their faces that wasn't found from any shade of powder. Erza wasn't expecting him to be so nervous, but apparently he didn't say that to everyone he's worked on. She felt...special "Um... oh right how much do I owe you?"

"Nothing. Just think of it as a gift."

"No I can't. Isn't there anything that I can do?"

"Then..." His heartbeat raced in nervousness. "If you're free tonight, we can go out for some dinner together?"

Erza didn't say anything immediately. Did he say something too direct? Was she going to think that he's a creeper? Why did he say that?! "I'm mean you don't have to if you don't want to, but it'd be nice so-"

"I'd love to."

"Really?" Damn his voice was too high! "I mean really?"

She smiled and assured him, "Yes. I would love to go to dinner with you."

"Then I'll go lock up."

She nodded in understanding and he disappeared. "He really is a great guy."

Their dinner wasn't the least bit awkward, the conversation flowed and Erza was smiling throughout the entire thing. Jellal smiled alongside the beautiful woman.

"So feel better?" He asked as he dropped her off at her apartment.

"Much. Thank you so much Jellal."

"No problem. It's the best fun that I've had in a while so I should thank you."

"I feel like I haven't thanked you enough." He was about say that there was no need but Erza was one step quicker and kissed him on the cheek. "You are the best Jellal. Thank you for everything. "

He looked into her eyes that were trying not to match his gaze. She didn't move and he didn't want her to. "Erza?" Her ears perked up and he decided to take the plunge. "Can I just..."

Her eyes looked up to his and he, hoping that she wouldn't hate him, kissed her softly. It felt like a blissful eternity until he pulled away from her when they were both out of breath.

Seeing that she just had a blank look, he inwardly freaked out. It just felt like a good moment, oh god what if she hated him now? He can't just take it back now!

Erza touched her lips with a bright red blush on her face. "That felt.. Do you think it's too presumptuous if I think this means we're..?"

"I would want to but if you don't-"

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting-" Erza stopped herself. Jellal looked at her in shock. Has she wanted something to happen as long as he wanted? " I mean I would love to."

Jellal smiled. He should've just asked her out earlier. "Looks like you don't have to go on anymore blind dates. Do you want to go out next week? I know a great place for some strawberry cheesecake."

"It's a date."

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><p>"So I heard that I win the bet?" Ultear asked walking in the salon a few days later after her vacation.<p>

"Everyone was so disappointed that they lost," Meredy reported. "Richard's just happy that the boss has finally found _love_," she overly exaggerated that last word.

"So where is our new couple?" That's perfect for teasing.

"Erza's getting a hair treatment today."

"Oh?"

Behind the door to the hairstyling room, Jellal finished drying Erza's hair. "There. Now it's in perfect condition," he announced, running his fingers through her red silk. "Is my queen satisfied?"

"Very. In fact, I think you deserve a tip." Erza gave him a peck at the lips causing Jellal's smile to widen.

"Is that it?" Erza snorted a little and got closer to Jellal. He bent his head slightly to reach her lips so that he could better express the happiness he felt, but there was a _tiny_ shuffle coming from the door.

"Shh!"

"You 'shh'! They're at a good part!"

"My just look at how LOVE is decorating the atmosphere of the shop!"

"Hoteye, you're way too loud, I can't hear them doing anything!"

Erza giggled as her boyfriend blushed as bright as her hair color. That blush soon disappeared into anger and Jellal opened the door to find the rest of the staff looking up towards him.

"We were looking for a pencil," someone said in all seriousness.

"Uh huh." Yeah, he didn't believe it one bit. Soon, it became a wonderful running fest with all the staff members running in random directions to avoid Jellal's clutches.

"I'm the fastest!"

"Don't say that now, just run!"


End file.
